Wadler v. Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc.

Wadler, Bio-Rad's general counsel for nearly 25 years, was fired after opening an internal investigation into potential violations of federal anti-bribery law by company officials. He sued for wrongful termination and retaliation; his allegations were separately investigated by the SEC and DOJ and raised in a whistleblower complaint. Bio-Rad, after years defending against these allegations, sought to bar Wadler from using any privileged or confidential company information in his lawsuit.

Whether an in-house attorney pursuing a wrongful-termination claim against an employer may reveal privileged communications or confidential information as reasonably necessary to support the claim or establish a defense.